Getting Wise
by sugar free vanilla
Summary: They don't meet during a murder investigation. A chance meeting in the summer of '99 could lead to so much more (AU in more ways than one).
1. Chapter 1

**HEY. This started as a little AU ficlet from a prompt on my tumblr (castleholic) to base it on 'Bohemian Like You' by The Dandy Warhols (excellent, excellent song) but it decided it wanted to be a fully fledged multichapter. **

**Okay, so in this: KB is 20, RC is 22. Johanna is alive. This begins Summer '00.**

**Around eight trillion sneezes went into the making of this story, and I'm so bleary eyed that I'm sure there were about the same number of corrections for Iso, who looked over this for me, to make. So huge thanks to her.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

It's with an exhausted sigh of relief that Richard Castle - Rodgers, until very recently - chucks the towel he's been wiping the tables down with into the sink. He considers hassling the chef to rustle him something up but even a crappy microwave-dinner seems more appealing right now - the food here is excellent but after a twelve-hour shift that felt more akin to twelve _years_, he just really wants to be home. He's been in since six am, and it seems like all the vegans in San Jose consider this _the_ place for an early breakfast. Or regular breakfast - or late, or brunch, or lunch.

"Don't envy you the dinner shift, man." Rick tosses over his shoulder as he hangs his apron, noticing his friend's arrival into the kitchen with an armful of plates, cutlery balanced precariously on top of the pile. Luke pulls a face, already run ragged from ten minutes on the job.

"At least it's only four hours. Your sorry ass was here for twelve."

"Touché. You up for some Crash Bandicoot tomorrow?"

"Sure. Mine after work?"

"You're on."

And then Rick is finally free, stepping out into the mild summer air. It's warm enough that he doesn't need his jacket, but nothing like the heat of LA or the stifling humidity of August in Manhattan.

A slight ache makes itself known in his chest but Rick's no stranger to homesickness, and it's with relative ease that he's able to shove the feeling aside. Adept at ignoring his longing for the city, he tilts his head back with his eyes shut and lets the sun burn through his lids, tinting them a glowing red.

He does love California. Even if he loved New York more.

(Maybe he's less efficient at forgetting his yearning than he thinks).

An antagonised growl somewhere close by startles him from his revelrie. Jumping at the noise, he looks round for the source. It doesn't take him long - his eyes are drawn to her in moments, to the gorgeous brunette in the cherry red, sixties Mustang that seems to have stalled.

She is - God, she's stunning. And there's something about her, as she blows a strand of hair away from her face in irritation, that has Rick meandering her way. Maybe it's the annoyed roll of her eyes as she pounds the bonnet of her car in frustration. Or perhaps it was the inviting half smile she'd sent his way as she'd eased herself out of the vehicle with a natural elegance.

Still. Either way, he's enticed.

"Nice car you've got there." Good - he sounds casual, but interested. That thread of charm that works so well for him weaves through the words and strings them into something more suggestive than they should be.

She doesn't blush but there's a quick flash of her gaze at the ground before she looks up at him. Hazel green eyes fixed on his, curtained by a soft fringing of thick lashes. There's some feline quality there, he thinks. Playful but decidedly predatory.

Oh, he knows ways to make her _purr._

"Well," she starts. And _that voice:_ it belongs in the bedroom (preferably his). Sleek and sultry and words dripping from her tongue like some sort of sexy syrup - oh, syrup. There's an idea-

-he cuts off the mental image before he can get lost in it. His imagination is too vivid at times.

"It's not being so _nice_ today. Won't even start. That's the problem with these old things. They look _great _but aren't exactly reliable."

"Hey, I used to have one of these. I could take a look for you?" He offers. One hand in his pocket - relaxed, at ease. Just a friendly offer. Even if she's not interested (although the way she's stepped that bit closer to him makes him doubt that), he might as well help her out. Not like he has anything better to do, anyhow.

Her answering smile is akin to sunlight - warm and dazzling and delicious. An absurd rush of pride straightens his spine just for being the one to provoke that expression. "That would be great. Thanks."

"So what's the problem exactly?" He questions. "Just won't start, or?"

She nods emphatically. "Yeah, and when I try it makes this _noise _like-" That god-damn angelic face screws itself up adorably as she imitates the sound. With impressive accuracy, actually, because he knows exactly what she means even as he laughs at her.

He checks its okay with her for him to lift the bonnet and then it only takes him a couple of minutes to fix the problem. Thank God the issue was in the realm of his limited mechanical knowledge. Saves him some embarrassment.

"There, try that." Closing the hood, he spins round with a flourish. Doesn't miss the way her eyes jump back up to his face from where they'd been looking before - at his ass, if the blush rising on her cheeks is anything to go by. "Enjoying the view?"

Her somewhat sheepish grin dissolves into a sly smirk as she looks him up and down with an appraising eye. Brow arched as she meets his gaze once again, she nods her approval. "It's not so bad-" She pauses then, frowning. "What's your name?"

"Castle. Rick Castle." The debonair James Bond routine. Charming or chucklesome - never fails to provoke _some _reaction. "What's yours?"

"How about this, _Castle_," she drawls his surname, the one that's still a little unfamiliar to him. "I'll let you _guess_ my name over dinner. My treat. As a thanks for fixing my car."

"Ooh, free food and a mystery. I like you already." His plans to go home and veg out in front of the TV have been firmly overruled. He seems to have found his energy, anyway.

With a roll of her eyes that has his stomach mirroring the movement in turn, she gestures to the passenger side. "Hop in then, Castle. You've got an enigma to figure out."

As she looks up at him, mischief gleaming in those extraordinary eyes of hers, he's hit with the strange feeling that this woman (no more than a stranger, really)… this woman is a mystery he's _never _going to solve.

* * *

><p>"So," he asks, barely thirty seconds into the drive. "Where are we going?"<p>

"I thought you liked mysteries, Castle." A soft chuckle escapes the young woman's lips. It strikes him suddenly that maybe getting in a car with a stranger - who refuses to even tell him her name - to go to an unknown destination perhaps isn't the wisest idea that he's ever had..

He's silent for a moment. She gives him a strange look, as if questioning his silence.

"I just realised you could be an axe murderer."

A song of a laugh startles from her, high and melodic. "You got me, Castle. I'm one of hundreds of underling axe-murderers for a crime ring that exports human flesh in disguise as sushi. Served with a dubious red sauce of non-descript origins. Or soy. Client's preference."

And now he's laughing, because _wow_, this girl has a sense of humour morbid enough to match his own. That or she is legitimately crazy, and he needs to get out of this car right now.

Either way, she's just given him an excellent idea for a novel.

"Well, as delicious as I'm sure I'd be, I'm starving. So at least buy me dinner before the brutal killing begins."

"Deal." Her lips quirk up adorably and he's slightly uneasy with how captivated by this woman he already is.

They fall into an easy silence for a while - surprisingly comfortable for two strangers. He studies the vintage car, ignoring the growing sense of deja vu until-

"Wait! This is my car!" He exclaims.

"Uh, no - it's definitely mine." She replies, frowning slightly.

"No, I mean - it was. Before I sold it. Look here!" There's a tiny etching into the dashboard. _RR + KB._ "Mine and my ex's initials."

She's looking at him with an unreadable expression - a little bit sly, perhaps? But thoughtful too. He can't quite interpret it. "RR? I thought your name was Rick Castle?"

"Ah, yeah. I changed it - was born Rodgers."

"Rick Rodgers." The 'R's roll deliciously from her tongue. "Good name. Alliterative. What made you change it?"

He hesitates - not quite ready to open up with the whole truth, so gives her the abbreviated version. "I'm a writer - aspiring, at least. Needed a dramatic pen name."

"I still don't see the problem with 'Rodgers-" she begins to objects. Halts suddenly, must see something in his expression that says he doesn't want to talk about it. "So - Mexican food okay?"

"Mexican food's great," he replies, grateful for the change in topic. And he does love a good burrito.

* * *

><p>"I should've thought this through," she laughs around a mouthful of food. "Tacos are <em>so <em>not a first-date meal."

"First date, huh?" The corners of his lips twist into a delighted smirk, pleased to finally have flustered her. She's had him lost for words more than once already and he's not exactly the speechless kind.

"I - uh, well. I-" The stammering is cute. Not cute enough for him to put her out of her misery. "I thought… Is this not a date? I mean I know it was kind of spontaneous but…"

"I'd say it was a date." She relaxes visibly. "Except for one thing. I still don't know your name."

She grins, leans back. "You were meant to _guess_, Castle."

"But I have guessed!" He whines. "Do you know how many names there are that I have to choose from?"

"No," she says, raising an eyebrow. "Do you?"

He pauses, brow furrowing. "Okay, that is _so _not the point. At least give me a clue?"

She doesn't even stop to think. "Same initials as your ex."

"KB?" She nods her affirmative. So, K. _Kim, Kathleen, Kylie, Katherine…._

"Kate?" He guesses. He's not sure why but it fits and she's grinning in a way that tells him he's got it right.

"Well, I usually go by Katie - but I like Kate. Stick with that. It's Beckett, by the way."

"So, _Kate Beckett_," he grins, exaggerating the sharp K sounds with gusto, leaning across the table to wipe a smudge of sour cream from her lip with his thumb. "When can I see you again?"

* * *

><p><strong>Hopefully you like this so far and you're interested enough to stick with it. Reviews are super appreciated by the way.<strong>

**(the whole axe-murdering ring to export sushi thing came from the mind of anonymous033 and fairly sure the 'red sauce' was ilovetoread09 - credit where credit's due! If you want to have fun, borderline psychopathic conversations such as that one with me, feel free to follow me on twitter '_svf') **

**The title & summary will most likely be changed at some point because they kinda suck.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Thanks for the lovely response to this fic. Super glad people seem to be interested.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two:<strong>

"So, I met a girl yesterday." Rick announces, flopping back into the sagging sofa cushions at his friend's place, scooting back a little to get more comfortable as he catches the controller Luke throws his way.

"Seriously, man? Way to go. Was starting to think you'd never start dating again after you-know-who."

"You can say her name. I won't break." He focuses his attention onto an obstinate loop in the wire connecting the controller to the console before he can do exactly that. God, she messed him up when she left.

"Can't break what's already broken." Luke throws out teasingly, rips open a bag of crisps and chucks a few Rick's way. "Eat up, Writer Boy. You'll need your sustenance if you want a chance at challenging The Master."

"I thought we were gonna play Crash?"

"S'a one player game, Ricky. I didn't invite you over here so I could watch you take advantage of my Playstation and eat my food. Bishi Bashi Special is great, I promise."

* * *

><p>"Dude, that game is so frikkin' weird." Rick grumbles three hours later, as they finally cast their controllers aside.<p>

He kinda loves it.

"I know. Isn't it great?" Luke grins. "You want pizza?"

He's dialling before Rick can even answer, which is fine because he would've given his affirmative anyway and Luke knows his order, has ducked into the little kitchen to make the call, away from the repetitive music of the playstation game's menu screen.

Rick, alone on the couch finds his mind straying (as it has done continuously since last night) to Kate Beckett. He can't wait to see her again. Her band - and he still can't get over how _hot _it is that she's in one - have got a gig the next night. He thinks he may have been a little too eager in his acceptance of her idea that he come along to watch the show. _("You can come backstage," she'd promised. "I'll give you the tour.")_

Still. There are worse things to be than Kate Beckett's groupie.

"Hey, man. You okay there?" So wrapped up was he in his thoughts he didn't notice Luke's re-entrance.

"Yeah, yeah - I'm great, actually."

The smile on his face is genuine - a little smitten, perhaps and it must be obvious because Luke is flopping down beside him, hands clasped and voice horrendously high pitched. "You were thinking about the _giiiirl, _weren't you?" He teases. "Ooooh, tell me more, girlfriend."

"Only if you promise to never speak like that again," is Rick's answer, even as he chuckles at his friend's antics.

"I can make no guarantees. But, seriously. Come on, spill."

"I dunno what to say, Luke. Like - she's gorgeous - way, way past gorgeous-"

"Out of your league then, buttface?"

"I'm going to ignore your grade-school insult because I am secure in my own ruggedly handsomeness." (He's fairly sure he hears Luke mutter _secure in your own ego, at least). _"But yeah. She is. _So _out of my league. She's in one of her own."

"Let me guess - petite, blonde, busty. Probably called Tiffany."

Rick scowls. "No, actually. Tall and brunette."

"I notice you didn't eliminate busty-"

"Well, she's not. I mean - not that I was looking - oh, shut it. You're a sleaze."

"I'm not the one checking out girls' chests! Not this particular bosom, at least."

"Did you seriously just say bosom? Out loud? I told you to lay off the bodice-rippers, bro."

"I hate you."

"Love you too." Rick chucks the empty crisp packet, screwed into a tight ball at his friend's face. You know, just to take away from the affection. Even if it's true, they're _way _too cool to say it with straight-up sincerity. "But anyway, her name's Kate Beckett and-"

"Wait. Woah. Hold up. Stop right there. You're dating _Katie Beckett?"_

"We've been on one da- you know her?!"

"Only since forever. You're right man. She's so outta your league."

"Did you two - are you two - were you... Is she your ex? Because she's great, and I really like her but that's so against the bro-code. Bros before-"

"If you complete that expression, I'm going to have to hit you. Because not only is that totally degrading to women, but Katie is basically my little sister. So it'd be my duty to make you hurt should you call her a 'hoe'."

Rick winces. "You know that's not what I was getting at. Mates before dates?"

"Better. But nah, man. You're good. Me and Katie are entirely platonic. Like I said, she's like my little sister," he shudders dramatically. "God, that would be so very wrong."

"You sure she didn't just shoot you down? I can't see anybody wanting to be _just friends _with this girl."

Luke wrinkles his nose. "Nah - just - no. No. It's a little different growing up with someone, you know? I still see her with scabby knees and braces and arms way too long for her body. Would be hecka weird, ya feel?"

Rick doesn't feel him - can't help but think he'd be captivated by her even if he'd known her his whole life along. It's a helluva cliché, and his writer's brain cringes, ashamed - but he's never felt a spark with someone so immediately, so fiercely.

Not since Kyra.

_Shut up, Rick. Don't go there, _scolds the little voice in the back of his head; one of them, anyway - his brain is full of people and personalities. It's a wonder he doesn't go insane.

So he shoves all thoughts of his ex away, just in time to switch his attention to Luke before he starts talking. He looks concerned, Rick observes, stomach clenching with slight anxiety.

"Listen, Rick: the thing about Katie… Don't get me wrong, I love her to bits, but well - she's a whirlwind, you know? Intense and passionate and all-encompassing… until she moves on. Usually with a broken heart in her wake. She can't help it, really. She just doesn't take things so seriously any more. Always one foot out the door, and the guys? They get so tangled up in her that it's hard for them to find their way out. And seeing you after Kyra, man? You don't take heartbreak so well."

Rick makes the (perhaps less than wise) decision to ignore his friend's warning. Picks out the good parts, because _hell yes _she's intense and passionate. He picked that up in one evening - and a whirlwind? Sounds exciting. Something to break up the monotony his life since… (and well, since that other thing, too).

Okay, maybe he's a little bit of a mess and should keep Luke's caution in mind - but if this girl really does have this metaphorical web, then he's fairly sure he's already been ensnared. Nothing left to do but hold on for the ride and hope he comes out of it in one piece.

"You said she doesn't take things seriously _anymore?_ What happened?"

"Really?! _That's _what you got from that little speech? And there was me trying to be all eloquent and writer-boyish with your, actual Writer Boy's, best interests at heart." A long suffering sigh with his palm pressed dramatically against his chest in his lament, and Luke's over his little melodramatic moment. "But nah. I dunno, man, not really. She had a bit of a wild phase like - I don't know, five years back? - but then decided she wanted to do Pre-Law at Stanford, toned it all down to get the best grades she could. Worked hard, kept her head down. But autumn she did a semester abroad in Kiev-" (_Does she speak any Ukrainian? _Rick's mind instantly wanders to the gutter because - wow - that would be hot. _Or Russian, maybe? They speak both there, no?) "_- and by the time she got back, she'd sworn off commitment and decided that life's too short. _Carpe diem, _is what she says."

Seize the day. It suits her, Rick thinks.

"But you don't know what happened?" His insatiable curiosity has been piqued, now. That familiar craving to _know_ creeps up his vertebrae like an itch.

"No, I don't. I always figured it was something to do with a guy, but Katie's never been a big sharer. Even if I did I wouldn't tell you, though - you're my best friend, but she's family."

"How come I've never heard of her before?"

"Because you're just her type - and I knew if I introduced you… I just don't want you to get hurt again, ya hear?"

Maybe she really is trouble, Rick muses, if Luke went to such lengths to keep the two of them separate.

He can't really bring himself to care.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This was just a little bit of prolepsis for issues that may or may not arise in this fic. Want to keep the pacing fairly natural, so kept Caskett separate this chapter (don't hate me for that). Hopefully the lack of Kate/Castle banter and so forth in this chapter hasn't put anyone off.**

**If you're a little confused about why they're in San Jose and what exactly is going on (which, as I've not explained it would be entirely understandable), hang in there! All will become clear.**

**Really appreciate the reviews and alerts and favourites guys, thank you! (I think I replied to everything, but if I missed you out I'm really sorry and still über grateful).**

**Drop me a line on twitter: ' _sfv' or on tumblr: 'castleholic'.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

There's a definite scraping of metal in the lock of the door, distracting Rick from his perusal of the ingredients list on the back of the potato chip packet. It's fascinating, really - he thinks, fishing out the last few crumbs and licking them from his thumb - just how much crap can go into something, and have it still considered to be food.

"Yo, Luke!" He hollers. "Does the pizza guy have a key or have you got a roommate you've never told me about?"

"Nope, nobody has a key except - Katie! Isn't this a nice surprise." Luke emerges from, the bathroom, straightening as he sees just who has made their entrance into the apartment.

Rick almost falls off the sofa in his scramble to turn around. _Kate._ She's standing there in - overalls. Oh, that's adorable. And hot. And - why?

"Castle!" She exclaims, her cheeks flushing maybe a little as she immediately turns to him. "I - what are you doing here?" She folds her arms over her chest as though embarrassed of her attire but she doesn't look _displeased_ to see him, per se. That's a relief.

He waves one of the abandoned controllers in the air. "Video games and pizza."

"No, I mean.. You know Luke?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, we work together - you know, at the restaurant we met outside of?"

"Right! Yeah. I just assumed you'd just eaten there or something."

He laughs, amused. "And then immediately asked me out for dinner?"

"Hey, I - yeah, no. Didn't really think of that." She grins, a self-deprecating little chuckle spilling from those very kissable lips. "Either way, you're a guy. Therefore there's a ninety percent chance your stomach is a bottomless pit, so it wouldn't have mattered regardless."

"Ya have me there," he concedes. Gestures to the mountain of empty junk food wrappers on the coffee table. "_And _we have pizza on the way."

She comes around, sits herself neatly down on the sofa next to him. Not quite touching, but a little closer than entirely platonic. She's leaning a little into his space actually, and his mouth dries, throat bobbing violently as he swallows.

Luke, whose mutterings of _who am I,_ _chopped liver? _Rick's been vaguely aware of, sinks into the second-hand La-Z-Boy across from them, sneakers squealing against the leather as he reclines. "Hi, Katie. It's great to see you too!" He sounds put-out, but it's melodramatic and over the top. Definite teasing, rather than actual offense.

She merely turns to him, a too-sweet smile on her face. It's a little bit scary, actually. Adorable, but Rick's glad he's not the one it's aimed at. Apprehension flickers on Luke's face and _ooooh _- Castle realises that Kate probably has some excellent dirt on his friend.

Instead, she just raises a perfectly arched brow. "Your fly's undone."

And then, just like that, her attention is back on Rick. "So…" Her eyes flick to the slightly dimmed TV screen. "Bishi Bashi Special? Really?"

"Hey! I kind of liked it, actually."

She smiles at him - secretive and delicious, a hint of pink visible against the white of her teeth - as Luke jumps in with an affronted gasp. 'Katherine Houghton Beckett! What have I told you about bad-mouthing that game in front of me? It's a classic - God, just because you have no taste - no offense Rick… But seriously. What is _wrong _with you, Katie? Bishi Bashi Special is a work of art-"

Luke's still on his tirade, Kate throwing in casual disagreements every so often, when there's a knock on the door. The pizza guy, probably, so he gets up to answer, still launching out reason after reason that the game is so excellent.

"You like the game, don't you?" Rick realises out loud, the corners of his mouth tilting upwards in mirth.

"Love it. But winding up Luke is oh-so very entertaining." She leans into his shoulder, smile pressed against the material of his shirt to hide it from the man in question as he returns, toting two large pizza boxes. "Jesus, boys. Enough pizza there?"

"Is that you hinting you want to join us?"

"If you insist," she tosses back, flipping open the box and grabbing the first slice. She groans obscenely at the taste, swallowing the bite and leaving smudges of grease against her lips that Rick desperately wants to kiss away.

Luke shrugs helplessly, but it's hardly as if Castle's complaining. Instead, he's entirely fixated on the way the cheese stretches in glistening strands from the cherry red of her parted lips to the rest of the pizza.

"Is there something on my face?" She asks, confused by his staring.

Well, yeah, actually, he notices – there's a smear of tomato sauce on her cheek. Reaching out, he swipes it away with a gentle sweep of his thumb. He swears he feels a jolt of electricity pass through him at the contact, cliché be damned. And then she's looking up at him – eyes all wide and deer-like, soft like melting chocolate with warm flecks of forest green peeking through the canopy of brown, like fresh shoots pushing through rich soil in spring.

Gorgeous.

Rick's suddenly aware of Luke's uncomfortable coughs in the background. Kate's throwing him this adorable little bashful smile and he is _so _into her.

He doesn't believe in love at first sight (his faith in that concept has been crushed over and over, with every poor facsimile of 'love' that's ever been bestowed upon him), but he certainly has no doubts about the way a girl (_this girl) _could instantly pique his curiosity, drive it to fascination - and attraction. Strong, strong attraction.

Rick wants to know all the secrets behind that smile.

She shifts away from him a little, as if the proximity is getting to her too. Yet she sets her hand on the couch between them and it almost feels like she's daring him to take it. To tentatively lace their fingers like middle schoolers.

He can't remember wanting to hold a girl's hand this much in eighth grade, though.

(Somehow, he restrains - doesn't want to make Luke feel like he's third-wheeling in his own flat).

"So, Katie - Davidson driving you up the wall already?"

"God, you have no idea. He _promised_ he'd be okay living together after the break-up. It was bad enough when Madison was living with us too but now there's no buffer, it's _hell. _We were never even really a thing, ya know? I made it clear I wasn't looking for anything serious." Her eyes flash to Rick, apprehensive and meaningful.

For a second he isn't sure how to feel. Settles on glad because he _really _doesn't need a real relationship right now either. Not when he's still hurting and on the rebound.

_Huh. _Is that what this is? First time since Kyra he's been interested in someone, at least.

Still - Rick's never done casual. He's more of the give-her-everything type. Of course, he was more hopeful before _her_. Less jaded and more inclined to follow his foolish little heart.

So he grins roguishly, skates his pinky over hers. Shows her they're on the same page here.

"You live with your ex?" He asks, a laugh in his voice as she winces a little.

"Yeah - ugh, never get involved with your roommate. Especially when your _other _roommate is prone to prancing off to live with whichever guy she's currently involved with."

"That sounds… awkward."

"You're telling me! Luke gave me his spare key so I can escape him if it gets too much. After the thirty-seven text messages he sent me while I was on shift, I decided to avoid him as long as humanly possible. Came here straight from work. The boys from the garage were giving me hell about it. Merciless teasing, I swear."

"Aw, come on, Katie. We both know you give as good as you get. Bet the guys had their tails between their legs by the time you'd finished your tongue-lashing."

Rick might have been more preoccupied with the idea of Kate and _tongue-lashings _but he was putting two and two together-

-he made four.

"The overalls - and a garage? Kate, are you a mechanic?"

"Well, no, not technically - but I work there, help fix up cars, so kinda." She notices his shit-eating grin too late.

"Remind me how we met, Kate." Realisation dawns and her lips twist into this amused little smirk.

"You caught me."

"Hey, now! What's going on? How'd you meet?"

"Her car broke down. She needed help fixing it."

She shrugs, unapologetic, just a coy arch of her brow and the suggestion of a smug smile. "I never said I needed help. You _offered."_

"Oh, come on!" He exclaims. "It was heavily inferred and you know it."

Her tiny grin grows fractionally, the barest hint of white teeth casting sunlight into the dim room. She closes them over her bottom lip, sexy and impenitent. "Worked, didn't it?"

"Oh, man." Luke's laughing now. "She _played _you."

"I might be indignant were I not so very flattered. So incredibly desperate to talk to me was she that she played the damsel in distress card, knowing I wouldn't be able to resist helping her out." He colours his voice with a preening kind of grandiosity, over-the-top and-

-it reminds him of his mother. He deflates a little.

"Hero complex, huh? I'll remember that," she fires back, still unflustered. "And, Castle? Call me a damsel in distress again and I'll break both your legs."

"Noted." Hell of a spitfire, Kate. Helluva girl.

* * *

><p>"Walk me home?" He hadn't realised just how much time had passed when she asks, a glance at the clock telling him it's gone ten, dark out by now. Kate must take his pause for hesitation though, because her bright smile falters the slightest bit. "It's not very far…"<p>

"No, no - of course I'll walk you. Just hadn't realised how late it's gotten."

"Time flies when you're having fun," she winks as she grabs her coat, the most fleeting of smiles darting his way.

"Hey, Rick, I thought you were crashing here?"

"Change of plans."

"Sorry, Luke. Seems your boy here's had a better offer."

"What happened to mates before dates?"

"Seriously?!" She laughs. "Did we go back to grade school without me noticing?"

Luke sticks out his tongue. Kate rolls her eyes. Rick grins.

"Kate before mates." He quips, shrugging on his jacket and jamming his feet into his sneakers without bothering to untie them.

"You're a dick." Luke accuses, insult mellowed by the childish pout on his face. Drama queen.

"I know. See ya tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow," he grumbles, waving his hand in a shooing motion. "Begone with you. Don't do anything stupid."

"Alright, _Mom." _Kate wiggles her hand into the crook of Rick's elbow, tugs him out the door. "You're coming to the gig tomorrow, yeah?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Luke promises. Then he shuts the door and-

-they're alone.

The fact rises between them palpably, chemistry hardening into a tangible tension. But it's easy still, natural - just electrically charged. More.

"I changed my mind." She says, suddenly, her grip on his arm tightening as she turns to him.

"Huh?"

"I don't want you to walk me home. Not yet."

And then she releases her hold on him, and strides ahead. He doesn't move for a moment - not until she turns around, tossing "Are you coming, Castle?" over her shoulder, all enticing and sultry and laced with innuendo.

And then he follows.

(Eventually, it will become a pattern).

* * *

><p>They find themselves at this little park with a playground - empty at this hour - and settle themselves in a pair of swings. The moon's full and she looks ethereal in this light - her profile set glowing by the silver shining against the plane of her cheek, shadows painted at the sharp angles of his face. Mysterious and magnificent and a masterpiece.<p>

"So, Luke's scare tactics didn't work?"

"Wha-? How'd you know about that?"

She laughs a little, and despite the subtle sadness to it it sets the quiet night air humming. "Luke told me when you were in the bathroom. Though, I would've guessed - you keep giving me these wary looks. I don't blame him, honestly. You'd be better off listening to him." A pause, deafening in its silence. "I'm glad you didn't."

"I've never been one for listening to good advice."

"Yeah, he told me that too." She hesitates for a moment. "He also told me - he said you'd just got your heart broken. Warned me if I did the same, he and I may not be on good terms for a long while. He really cares about you, you know that Castle?"

He's a little blown away by the fact, in honesty. Feels a surge of affection for his friend's loyalty, even when it comes to this girl who's like a sister. "He's a great guy.

"He is." She tilts toward him, hands in tight fists around the chains of the swing as she bends them to face him, knuckles blanched white. "So are you, though, from what I can tell. I don't wanna break you."

"How'd you know it won't be the other way round?" His supposition sends a ghost of amusement flickering over her features.

"I - I don't really get that invested in… _things. _I'm just looking for some fun." She looks troubled, eyes studying the grass as she toes the ground with the end of her sneaker. And then she brightens, smile blooming like evening primroses is in the moonlight and Rick is knocked for six by the one-eighty. "Speaking of _fun…_ You ever been skinny dipping, Castle?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi, if you're still reading! Just watched 7x05 and holy crap. If you wanna talk about it PM me or tweet me ( _svf) or whatever because it was hecka creepy. But so great. Really liked it - kept me on the edge.**

**Although, of course I'm on the edge anyway because it's 3.18am here. **

**Speaking of, proof reading at this hour is not always the most accurate so please feel free to point out any glaring mistakes in this for me to correct. I think the actual thing may be a little clumsy, but I didn't notice any hideous typos.**

**Lastly, thank you so much for the reviews and the alerts - means so much to know people are liking this. I think I got back to everyone who was logged on individually, but thanks to all the lovely guest reviewers too :)**

**twitter: _svf**

**tumblr: castleholic**


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